Are you a Generous Mind?

Are you a Generous Mind? If you are intrigued by the idea, this is a place to explore what it means to you. Our blog focuses on helping you to learn what it means to be generous with what you know. You will find helpful tips and encouraging examples that will inspire you to release your ideas to the world! Find out more at www.generousmind.com.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Google's new email is generous with hard disk space and generous with search capacity. Why are they being generous? Well, there are probably several reasons. The main one is that they get the power of information. They know that if you give people space and ease of access they will communicate and share. If you put controls on them they will automatically be more reserved. Look at hotmail.com or yahoo.com which put limits on their mail. They did it to control costs but they drove away the interaction of the people.

Generosity pays. The more people have rooom to interact with each other on their terms the more likely they are to be creative and generous.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

One of the greatest challenges I have is identifying good stories about people who are being generous with what they know. The reason it is difficult is becuase information is flying around the world all the time. Each bit of data is out there for a different reason. Some is out to convert you. Some is out to sell you. Some is out to annoy you. Some is out to inspire you.

Each author has a very motive for throwing that information out to the world. So if anyone reading this hears a great story about someone who shares what they know to help those around them. Let me know!!

Monday, October 03, 2005

One very serious conern about being generous with ideas is the quality of those ideas. Benjamin Franklin makes a wonderful point. He says that we cannot repay a generous mind because their free gift to us is beyond price.

But so many times, it is easy to give away that which doesn't take much to give. I think about all of the "made in China" gifts you get for giving to a charity. Well, is it that way with ideas? Do we cull over the pile of ideas in our head and give away the ones that we don't want to use? The ones that we're not sure anyone will use?

I have to admit that sometimes I save the powerful concepts for myself and throw the ones that I don't really want to develop out like old bones I have already chewed.

But there are times when I choose to share an idea I am very excited about. Those are usually the times of the greatest synergy and growth. My idea gets sharpened and usually it sprouts new ideas in my partner in generosity.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

What is SPIN? It is the art of marketing and molding information to "sell" a product, idea or person to the target audience. I hear this term so much on the news where they are used to people trying to promote a cause or maybe just themselves.

So here is the question: Can marketing/advertising or "spin" be generous? Now, we probably should make a distinction. You can say "TV is becoming more generous with the time the allot to marketing." I don't mean generosity as it relates to quantity. I am trying to define whether a person's efforts to convince me of the value of a product or a person's efforts to convince me to vote for a particular candidate are generous.

Do they fit into the concept of the Generous Mind? As I have asked myself this question, I am leaning towards "NO." The main reason for my strong reaction is that generosity is selfless and is most interested in the person who will benefit. Spin is selfish. It is trying to convince (sometimes through honest means and sometimes not) you that my agenda is right and should be followed. Sometimes that convincing leads to money spent, allegiance given, time allocated . . .

How can spin be generous? If we are looking at how to share the knowledge that we have been given, we have to watch out for the tendancy to move that generous practice into the commercial realm. That isn't hard - its called spin.

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About Us

Jon and Mindy Hirst have a passion to help others be generous with their ideas. Both graduates of Judson College with degrees in Communications, they are co-founders of Generous Mind (www.generousmind.com) and have the exciting role of raising three children.